what I've been up to...
The last few days have been a whirlwind. The professor has a very busy term, teaching two upper level classes, so he needed to do work on the weekend. Didi (my mom) came from the US to visit and play with twins. One of the twins has a whopper of a cold, which means it is likely only a matter of time until the second one gets it, or the grown-ups get it. Oh, and nobody ever sleeps through the night, have I said that before?! :)
Meanwhile, my essay, Building Jewish Identity -- for preschoolers, came out. Suddenly, I had people I did not know (at preschool pick up, of course! where else do I go?) telling me that they were reading my work. This was a surprise. To be honest...a lot of the time, I write something, and I never hear a thing afterwards! Sometimes there are negative comments, but this was totally different. It was positive.
Then, Maclean's magazine published a truly game-changing piece about racism in Winnipeg. The author of that article quoted me, based on this essay I wrote for the CBC back in November. More than anything, I am so glad that people "heard" what was being said in that important article--and I see lots of discussion about racism in the media here, in emails people send, --and who knows, maybe out on the street. (I haven't been out much, what with the twin preschoolers, the cold virus, the lack of sleep, etc.)
The most interesting thing about all this is that I haven't been especially worried or afraid. Back when we lived in Kentucky, if I wrote a piece with anything political, controversial, or religious in it...I often heard about it. I received hate mail, or weird phone calls. It was really disconcerting and scary sometimes. It did not stop me from writing or wanting to make positive change, but it did make me wonder if it was safe, if it was worth it, and whether I should keep writing. Who knows, maybe I am just too busy to worry here, but luckily, lately, the positive feedback has outweighed anything else.
Recently, I've felt like it is worth it to keep doing this writing thing. At the same time, I've been working on a new knitting design. This has been fortunate, because when somebody wakes me up every 2-3 hours, I find it much harder to formulate any kind of argument or point...hence the delay in posting here...but knit? heck yeah. I can still knit.
Even if I didn't design, this always has benefits. People in Winnipeg will always need woollies. :)
Meanwhile, my essay, Building Jewish Identity -- for preschoolers, came out. Suddenly, I had people I did not know (at preschool pick up, of course! where else do I go?) telling me that they were reading my work. This was a surprise. To be honest...a lot of the time, I write something, and I never hear a thing afterwards! Sometimes there are negative comments, but this was totally different. It was positive.
Then, Maclean's magazine published a truly game-changing piece about racism in Winnipeg. The author of that article quoted me, based on this essay I wrote for the CBC back in November. More than anything, I am so glad that people "heard" what was being said in that important article--and I see lots of discussion about racism in the media here, in emails people send, --and who knows, maybe out on the street. (I haven't been out much, what with the twin preschoolers, the cold virus, the lack of sleep, etc.)
The most interesting thing about all this is that I haven't been especially worried or afraid. Back when we lived in Kentucky, if I wrote a piece with anything political, controversial, or religious in it...I often heard about it. I received hate mail, or weird phone calls. It was really disconcerting and scary sometimes. It did not stop me from writing or wanting to make positive change, but it did make me wonder if it was safe, if it was worth it, and whether I should keep writing. Who knows, maybe I am just too busy to worry here, but luckily, lately, the positive feedback has outweighed anything else.
Recently, I've felt like it is worth it to keep doing this writing thing. At the same time, I've been working on a new knitting design. This has been fortunate, because when somebody wakes me up every 2-3 hours, I find it much harder to formulate any kind of argument or point...hence the delay in posting here...but knit? heck yeah. I can still knit.
Even if I didn't design, this always has benefits. People in Winnipeg will always need woollies. :)
Labels: CBC, cold, essays, illness, Jewish identity, Jewish Winnipeg, knitting, knitting designs, preschool, racism, writer's life
posted by Joanne at 2:15 PM
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